


After the Fall

by tsheps



Series: The White Knight of Omega [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-21 19:58:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3703601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsheps/pseuds/tsheps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war against the Reapers is over and the hero survived, of course.  The galaxy around Aria has changed in every conceivable way, and yet somehow, a year later, she is still wearing the same lie she has been telling for over a century.  Then the Normandy shows up at Omega toting the do-gooder, her turian sidekick, and her asari bondmate just in time to catch Aria in a very bad mood.</p><p>The sequel to "The White Knight of Omega'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So Tevos and Aria have become one of my new favorite couples, and I just couldn't help but write more about them. Not sure how long their story line is going to go, because they just keep working their way back into my head! Who am I to argue with the muse? Hope you enjoy!

Aria uncrossed her legs and reversed them, hearing the leather of her pants creak on the couch as she crossed them again.  The movement shifted her arms, which were stretched across the back.  The white leather of her jacket creaked against the couch the same as her pants had.  She growled in discomfort and frustration.  Bray took a step away from her, lowering himself to the middle stair on the flight that lead to her perch above Afterlife.  His discomfort added to her own and she clenched her jaw.  She'd been doing it so much recently that she felt newly toned muscles bunch under her cheeks.  Her teeth pressed hard against each other and a headache began to bloom in her temple.

Anger and resentment burned in her gut.  She was uncomfortable because of this new couch, she was sure.  The leather was of a poorer quality than her old couch.  The shade of red was not quite right.  The elcor had tried to replace the original with a reasonable facsimile, but the attempt was a complete failure.  He had tried to get Shepard to find it during the battle to retake the station, but she hadn't even tried.  Had she put a little more effort into a simple fucking request, Aria wouldn't be sitting here itching on her throne.

"Fucking Shepard."  Aria spat under her breath.

It had been just over a year since Shepard had played the hero again and saved the world.  Skipped through an unbreakable line of banshees and brutes and all manner of foul beasts to make it to the beam and up into the Citadel.  The rest of them in London had kept fighting while she traipsed about up there, taking her sweet ass time.  Aria had been charged by a brute and slammed into a crumbling brick and concrete wall.  A whole squadron of Blood Pack mercs had rushed in and saved her from being trampled and skewered.  Most of them were reduced to piles of scraps by the thing, and, as it fell in death, its arm had whipped out and smacked into Aria just as she was getting to her feet. She’d been dazed and pinned beneath its broken body.  She had plugged holes in a half dozen husks before she could get to her feet again, only to be shot by a marauder.  A pack of cannibals were standing over her, ready to rip the armor and limbs from her body when finally Shepard decided to do something useful.  A flash of bright red light lit the sky and came like a shockwave across the battlefield.  The cannibals convulsed and spasmed and fell dead on top of her.  It took hours for some of her Eclipse to find her under the pile and get her to a hospital. 

She spent the next five weeks in a shithole medical clinic on the surface of that piss pot planet.  The food was terrible and the place was infested with humans.  They cut her leather jacket off of her. She had nearly killed them all when she found out.  Most of the mercenaries that she had taken with her had been killed.  The ones who were left had been profoundly shaken and suddenly grown perspective on life.  More of the survivors than she had planned scuttled back to their home worlds or their colonies to lead boring, pointless lives.  Then she gets back to Omega and finds a group of slavers had tried to move in and take over the place.  A worthless, lazy human named Eloi who dealt in red sand and slaves thought she had been killed on Earth and saw Omega as a plum ripe for the picking. 

The hapless humans were far easier to eject than Petrovsky had been.  The people of Omega had supported Bray with less spine than she would have liked to see.  When she set foot on the station they fell into line with the vigor she had expected.  If truth be told she was still too weak to show her best, but the Talons were still behind her since she was protecting the people.  All in all, the war had not ended for her for a month and a half.    

A cry rose up from a party of drinkers on the raised platform to her right.  She turned her head casually and saw a group of Talons being saluted by a crowd of dirt covered miners.  They shook hands with the mercs and patted them on the back.  Then the whole party turned to Aria and lifted their glasses.  They held the drinks aloft and the look in their eye was hard to place.  Perhaps awe, perhaps pride.  Probably a mix of the two.  She flicked one finger an inch off the back of her couch and slightly inclined her head.  The group cheered and drank.  She favored them with the barest upturn of her lips before turning back away and letting the darkness return to her features.

Since she had come back and saved them- again- from a group of individuals who wanted to oppress them, the people of Omega had flocked back around her.  The changes she made to the economy and running of the station hadn't hurt, either.  Still, she found it strange to be loved as much as she was feared.

Bray received an audio only call on his omnitool and he answered it in a low voice.  Aria clenched her teeth harder.  The sound of the batarian's voice grated on her nerves and she bit back the insult she had intended to throw at him.  She needed Bray to command authority on this station, so she could not humiliate him in public.  Besides, it wasn't the rumble of his voice that was truly annoying her.

"Boss, we have a ship inbound.  Asking for permission to dock."

Aria's eyes were fixed on the pathetic gyrations of a dancer on the landing below her.  The asari was enthusiastic, to be sure, but she looked less like she was being seductive and more like she was being attacked by a cloud of hornets.  The only job Aria had been able to get when she arrived on this station was as a dancer.  The men running it lacked imagination.  She had worked hard with her trainer to be the best in the bar and position herself to see and be seen.  It was her way in, and she had been proud of her skills.  In her early years, she had given private lessons to some of the more attractive new hires. She had basked in the adoration and never spent a night alone. Now the sight of a wanton asari writhing for her made her want to scream and kill things. 

"Honestly, do we even train these girls any more, Bray?" 

He looked over his shoulder and cringed at the sight, "The pickings must be slim.  I'll get her sent back to training for a few more days."

Aria squinted at the girl and then turned her attention back to Bray.  After a moment, she threw up her arms and said, "What _is_ it, Bray?!"

"Oh... right boss.  Sorry.  Alliance ship requesting permission to dock.  It's the _Normandy_."

An image of the arrogant smile of Commander Shepard popped into her head.  Possibly the last person in the galaxy she wanted to see right now.  Except the stuck up little asari Shadow Broker she had bonded.

“What do they want?"

He blinked four eyes at her blankly.  The expression would have been humorous enough on a creature with just one set of eyes.  To see the dullness expressed in duplicate was almost enough to make Aria smile, despite her mood.  Perhaps it was an unfair question. Of all the times Shepard had docked here, she had never asked him what the human wanted. He fiddled with the worn grip of the pistol at his hip and replied, "Uh... I'm not sure.  You want me to ask?"

Aria put her delicate but deadly fingertips to her forehead, trying to massage the blooming headache away, "No, don’t bother.  Just let the little assholes dock.  Make sure they come straight to me.  Shepard has an annoying tendency to kill people when she shows up here.  I don't have anyone for her to off for me this time, so I’d rather she stay out of trouble."

He turned gratefully back around and spoke quietly.  It seems he finally read the room and was trying to tread lightly, lest he get blasted down the stairs into the enthusiastically bad dancer.  His obvious fear finally made Aria decide to try and get a hold of herself.  It was not Bray's fault that she was in a sour mood.  Nor was it Shepard's, and it would be a catastrophically bad idea to lash out at the three time savior of the galaxy because she was cranky.  Satisfying, yes, but a bad idea none the less.

She had not slept well since the war.  She was plagued with nightmares involving being snatched off the ground by the corrupted form of an asari. Her ash gray face twisted into a mockery of a smile, screeching a blood curdling call.  Then the slim, twisted arm would pull back and shoot forward, razor sharp nails piercing her skin and smashing through her ribcage.  The wasted hand would exploded through her spine and the warm bits that gave her life would spill onto the ground behind her.  She would wake up sweating and shaking but perfectly silent.  Something in her brain knew that if she woke up to the sounds of her own screams mingling with the banshee's, everything that held her mind together would be torn apart. 

Last night, however, the gray, wasted face that had plucked her almost lovingly from the ground was still covered in a very familiar set of jagged white markings.  A bold white stripe still crossed her lower lip, skipped the flesh below and started again on her chin.  The eyes were hollow and cold, but they were still the same vivid green of grass on the plains of Armali.  The exact shade.  Just the memory of the dream, vivid and piercing, sent a shiver through Aria.

She and Tevos had arrived back at the Citadel on the _Destiny Ascension_ in the middle of a full scale massacre.  The Reapers had landed and were tearing the civilians apart.  They were able to contact the other councilors as the neared the station, and the two were waiting for them as they docked.  The turian and salarian had been through a terrible ordeal, and were trying to get the ship to immediately leave.  The combined force of will from Aria and Tevos had convinced them to allow as many civilians as could fit onto the craft.  The sheer size of the ship meant that thousands of souls were saved by their efforts.

While they were ushering the terrified masses onto the ship, Aria received a call from one of her guards.  Sha'ira was acting strangely, and would not leave the Silver Sun Casino.  She insisted that she would not leave until she met with Aria.  With a quick word of explanation to Tevos, she bolted for a skycar, choosing one at random from the parking area near the dock. 

The casino was dripping in flames and Reapers were flooding through the streets when she arrived.  She had to bail from the skycar and drop fifteen feet to the ground.  The car careened into a pack of brutes and exploded in flames as she curled her body and rolled out of the fall.  The destruction distracted some of the others, and Aria was able to rush into the building.  She found the consort sitting primly on the plush cushions of a circular booth on the first floor.  Her ankles were crossed, a distant look on her face.  The couch was on fire.  The flames licked the edges of the consort’s long dress. When she saw Aria, she crumpled into tears.

She had to half carry the consort out of the building.  Seeing her had finally allowed Sha'ira to come to terms with what had happened to her, what Lidanya had done to her, and she was almost catatonic.  One of her ships, which were still in the area fighting off the Reapers, sent a shuttle for the two of them.  Aria had been defending their position as best she could, but she had been backed into a corner and was outnumbered a hundred to one.  It took all of the consort's strength to maintain a biotic barrier around them while Aria fired endlessly.  When she ran out of thermal clips she started blasting away with her biotics, but she was tiring fast.  The shuttle arrived just in time to save her from one impossible fight and deliver her to another in London.

" _Normandy_ boarding party arriving now, boss."

Aria pulled herself gratefully out of her painful memories.  Time to put on a happy face for the war hero.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Bray swept his omnitool over the bodies of the two people in front of him.  It was a formality, the software he used was only moderately successful at finding hidden surveillance implants and weapons.  Considering that both of the individuals had gleaming new heavy pistols strapped to their belts, the usefulness of the search was questionable.  Aria had ordered it only to assert her dominance.  She was the one in charge here, and if Shepard and Garrus didn't like it they could get back on their bird and fly away.  Shepard consented with a polite smile, always the peacemaker.  Vakarian shuffled and clicked his mandibles with a decidedly irritated cadence.  Aria's lips turned up just barely at his bristling.  She did enjoy needling the guests.

Bray powered down his omnitool and gave a wary nod to the newcomers.  All four of his eyes clearly stated that he was going to watch them.  Despite his admitted respect for Shepard, his loyalty was to Aria, and he knew what she wanted from him.  She motioned with her chin to the end of the couch and decided to be nicer to Bray.  At least for a day.

Shepard sat down gracefully and leaned forward, eager to chat.  Garrus stood nearby, trying and unfortunately succeeding at looking more intimidating than Aria's guards.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Admiral Shepard?"  Just as Shepard opened her mouth to respond, Aria continued.  "Congratulations on the promotion, incidentally.  I suppose it is Alliance protocol that you only have to save the galaxy from annihilation three times before you get a promotion?"

Shepard smiled good-naturedly, ignoring the swipe at the Alliance, "Thank you, Aria.  You are well informed as always.  I only got the promotion when I returned to active duty a couple of months ago.  I was in hospital for a long time after they dragged me off of what was left of the Citadel.  I hear you spent some time in the hospital yourself."

"I did.  Five torturous weeks surrounded by humans.  You were on a hospital ship, though, so you had better doctors I'm sure.  Probably asari."

"Aww, humans aren't that bad once you get to know us.  You like me, right?"

Aria made a point to look down her sloping nose at Shepard before answering, "I suppose.  Mainly because it would not benefit me to kill you."

Garrus huffed and turned away, but Shepard just laughed, "Praise indeed.  Don't gush too much, you'll make me blush."

Aria fixed her eyes on the far wall opposite the human.  She allowed the throbbing music of the club to sink into her bones for a moment before replying, "I'll leave that to your new bondmate.  I'm surprised you didn't bring her with you.  Don't you always travel in a pack of three, anyway?"

"Liara's on her way.  She's escorting a guest.  I wanted to check in with you before they got here.  Thank you for the wedding present, by the way.  It was... slightly more adventurous than we... well, never mind.  Thank you."

Aria grinned.  She had spent a great deal of time searching for the most wildly inappropriate gift she could think of to send them when she declined the invitation to attend their bonding ceremony.  It made her immeasurably happy to think of how uncomfortable it would make them when they opened it.  She had gone to the most hardcore sex shop in the most disreputable section of Illium for it.  There were so many wonderful things to choose from that she ended up putting together a rather large gift basket. A whole assortment of leather and bondage accessories, whips, clamps, and toys including a krogan dildo that must have been the size of her thigh.  Aria beamed inwardly at the look on the shy archeologist turned half-confident Shadow Broker's face when Shepard unpacked the massive cock.

"My pleasure.  And I very much hope yours."

Shepard squirmed in a way that seemed to indicate it had been.  She was red from her hairline to the high collar of her uniform jacket.

"Good to see your little blue knows how to have a good time.  Though the fact that you can sit for this long..."

Garrus radiated discomfort and Shepard rushed to change the subject, "So!  I hear there have been quite a few changes around Omega since I was last here."  She relaxed slightly when Aria settled more comfortably into the couch, apparently willing to let the subject drop.  "Of course, when I was last here there were burning Cerberus corpses in the street and bullet holes in just about everything."

Garrus grumbled, "Nice of you to leave so many of the bullet holes, Aria."

The song changed to a slower, more hypnotic beat.  The bass thrummed along the muscles of Aria's arms and shoulders, soothing her with a steady, warm rhythm. The trance-like tempo calmed her mood, "I would have left the corpses, personally.  Or bronzed them in honor of my victory.  But Shepard here wouldn't let me kill Petrovsky, so I settled for shooting them all out through the airlocks and good riddance."

A large group of workers made their way to the upper seating area to their left at that moment.  The movement caught everyone's eye, and they all turned to watch the group head over to an empty table.  Most had pressure suits half unzipped, the empty arms and torsos flapping lazily behind them as they walked.  Mag boots clunked heavily on the floor.  They placed an order with their waitress and then saluted to Aria on her perch.  She acknowledge them with a flick of her finger and a nod of her head the way she had the miners earlier.  There was some applause from the table, and she turned back to her guests.

"Omega has decided to take advantage of our brave new world.  It has been quite a success so far."

As the dust of war began to settle, the governments of the galaxy met for an unprecedented summit at one of a handful of colonies which were not damaged by the Reapers.  They made plans for rebuilding, prioritizing certain projects over others.  The first priority became repairing the mass relays, the ability to travel quickly from system to system being key for maintaining security and getting supplies to refugees.  The next priority had been housing for the millions of displaced persons.  Somewhere along the line was rebuilding the Citadel and disposing of the inert Reaper corpses orbiting a dozen planets, but those projects could wait.

Because of the sheer number of relays, the repair of a system's relay was the responsibility of the system's inhabitants.  A small amount of assistance was given from the Council, mainly in the form of Crucible scientists and engineers.  Aria controlled the space around the Omega 4 relay, making the dead hunk of metal her burden.  She had no interest in pouring valuable resources into repairing it.  Let any Cerberus researchers who were still there on the other end with the Collector ruins rot along with the monsters they created. 

Instead, she saw an opportunity.  Many of the delicate parts that were essential to the operation of a mass relay had been destroyed in the blast. Normally they could be fixed with little difficulty, but there were hundreds of broken parts in dozens of relays throughout the galaxy.  The Omega 4 relay seemed to be nearly intact, the parts available for salvage and sale.  Moreover, the hundreds of tons of metal plating for the thing could be repurposed into making prefabs for the homeless. 

Instead of a credit drain, the Omega 4 relay became a gold mine.  Aria used some of the same equipment used in the eezo mine to start stripping it.  She put feelers out to the galaxy about selling the parts.  The response was overwhelming.  Other systems with less popular relays were attempting the same investment, but they were charging astronomical prices.  The lure of price gouging was strong in a universe reeling from near extinction.  Everyone wanted to make their fortune and hide on a tropical planet, drowning their fears in cheap booze and physical pleasure. 

The Pirate Queen of Omega bucked the trend and charged reasonable prices.  The eezo mine was back to turning a profit now that the bulk of the product wasn’t being siphoned off to the Alliance. During the war, she had created the Omega Coalition of Cargo Transporters to carry the goods to war zones. They had proven invaluable during the conflict, and they were now the most sought after freight company in the galaxy. She forgave the indenturement contracts of her citizens and offered fair wages for dangerous work.  Every resident got a cut of the profits in the form of tax breaks and reduced costs for goods.  Already Aria was becoming the only game in town.  Credits rolled in, and soon Omega would have one of the wealthiest economies in the Milky Way.  It took a criminal to find the moral compass that war profiteering had obliterated.  The irony pleased Aria even as the lie she had worn for so long began to feel like an ill-fitting suit.  Criminal she may have been and still was, but few people knew she had always had a strong moral compass.   

"I know the Council is pleased with what you're doing.  Councilor Te..."

Aria wasn’t sure she could bear to hear that name, so she cut Shepard off, "Why exactly have you come to Omega, Shepard?"

In response, she gestured over Aria's shoulder, "Diplomatic assignment."

Aria turned to see what the admiral had been gesturing towards. Liara had just walked through the doors of Afterlife.  A contented smile split her features as she chatted animatedly with an asari who was at least six inches taller than her.  The height difference was accentuated by the form fitting, floor length dress in shades of red the taller asari wore.  The stripes of color on the dress highlighted the jagged stripes of white on her face.  Councilor Gabrielle Tevos walked with her usual confident step, her chin up, her eyes ahead as she conversed with Liara.

Aria's neck hurt from turning to watch the pair.  She stood very slowly, her eyes never leaving that face.  Her heart clenched painfully, twisting in her chest even as it stubbornly beat on.  Her lungs were not inflating properly.  Her arms and legs were numb.  Her mind went blank.  She watched Tevos walking nonchalantly through her club as if it was perfectly acceptable to simply show up here like this.

Shepard was, as usual, oblivious, "Councilor Tevos is reluctant to fly on the _Destiny Ascension_ these days.  She and Liara have become rather close in the last few weeks, so I offered when she said she needed a ride.  I am a Spectre, sworn to serve the Council and all."

Shepard's voice droned on about how Liara was working as an adviser to the asari delegation or some such nonsense.  Aria's attention was following the two asari up the stairs and around the corner leading to her perch.  They reached the landing and turned to walk up the flight that would deposit them at the foot of the stairs Aria stood at the top of.  Just as she was about to pass behind a wall that would take her momentarily out of sight, Tevos's eyes flicked up to Aria.  Their gazes locked and the moment stretched into a lifetime.  The green eyes revealed nothing, the diplomatic mask firmly in place.  Her hands gave her away, though.  As she raised her foot to the next step, she wiped the palms of her hands down the sides of her dress.  It looked like she was smoothing the clinging fabric, but Aria felt sweat on her own palms and knew the truth of the matter.  For a moment Aria was looking at Tevos not across a room, but through a space of time infinitesimally small.  A blip in the radar of both of their lives, but a blip that encompassed something so incredibly sacred to Aria that she thought she may lose herself in the memory.  Then the green eyes were swallowed by the cold metal of the station's wall and the moment popped like a soap bubble.

Aria took a deep breath and turned her eyes back to her immediate vicinity.  No one seemed to have noticed that her world had crumbled around her and been rebuilt in an instant.  Shepard had been chittering away, never noticing her discomfort.  Garrus was checking his omnitool, keeping a close eye on a Blue Sun merc sitting nearby. Aria looked to see who it was.  The man was eyeing him as if his face was vaguely familiar.  Aria took note that the merc had been one of the few who had survived the assault on Archangel several years ago.  She had known all along the turian vigilante's true identity, and had quietly sabotaged efforts to remove him.  She had never even admitted to Shepard that she was aware of his identity.  She made a mental note to separate the two as quickly as possible. She was tired of watching people die.

And then the two asari reemerged into view.  Liara did not hesitate to move up toward Aria and Shepard.  Her steps were light and sure.  Tevos took a moment to gather an inch or two of the long dress in her hands before starting up.  She looked at her feet as though she worried about tripping.  Aria suspected it was a tactic to delay the moment she had to look into Aria's eyes again.  In the brief time when Tevos was out of sight, the resentment and pain that had been broiling inside Aria's chest for a year flared up again.  She stood like stone, wrapping herself in the armor she had carefully constructed to protect her from the emotions of that glorious and terrifying time they spent together on _the Destiny Ascension_.  She held Tevos at arm's length from her heart again.

Unfortunately for her resolve, Tevos looked even more alluring than she had for the last forty years.  Her skin was a deeper shade of blue than before, a testament to the many days and weeks she had spent in real sunlight visiting Thessia and asari colonies during the reconstruction.  The white of her markings popped in stunning contrast to the darker skin tone.  She had lost weight, too.  She had never had much weight to lose, and now she looked almost painfully thin.  Aria could see her hipbones through the fabric of her dress just barely more than usual.  The dress she wore was the same cut she preferred, with a high collar that elongated her slim neck and petite shoulders.  The design was of vertical red stripes, each stripe a slightly darker shade as they got farther from the central, almost pink stripe. Her slimmer face accentuated her high cheekbones, reminding Aria of the statue of Athame that had been pulverized on Thessia thanks to the Reapers and Kai Leng.  Her bottom lip was still plump and pouting in a way that made Aria's defenses strain.

She arrived and released her dress.  She looked up from her feet through her lashes.  Her eyes were hooded and confident.  Aria felt her insides flare with anger.  Aria was stone.  Tevos smiled and extended her hand.  Aria was stone.

"It's a pleasure to finally see Omega, Aria."

Aria crossed her arms over her chest, but smiled politely, "I hope you enjoy your stay, Councilor." 

Tevos dropped her hand without embarrassment.  Aria was stone. 

"The other councilors asked me to pass along their thanks at your assistance in the rebuilding of our relays and settlements throughout the galaxy.  They asked me to share with you their pride in the efforts of the people of the Terminus."

Aria was stone.  She inclined her head and spoke in a level voice, "This is our galaxy too, Councilor.  Though Council Space doesn't care about the Terminus, we still care about you.  We won't ignore you the way you do us, Councilor Tevos."

Liara and Shepard both bristled at the speech, not understanding the true nature of the insult.  Liara took a step forward, "That criticism is unfair, Aria.  Councilor Tevos has..."

Tevos cut her off politely with a smile, "I wonder, Liara, Admiral, if I might speak with Aria alone for a moment."

Shepard noticed a tension in the air that sprung up when Liara's stance became more aggressive, "I would advise against that, Councilor.  Most people in the Terminus do not respect the rule of the Council."

"I am quite certain that I am safe with Aria."

Shepard looked somewhat skeptical, "Aria is not the one I am worried about."

Several snarky comments came into Aria's head.  She decided to let the power struggle play out between the two women.  It was far more her style to stand aloof at any rate.  After a moment's silent battle, Liara's hand on Shepard's arm reminded her of her place.

"Fine.  We will be at the bottom of the stairs if you need us, Councilor."

She nodded and smiled sweetly while the three of them removed to the booth out of earshot.  Tevos turned demurely to Bray and looked at him expectantly.  He didn't move a muscle.  Aria decided he definitely needed a raise.

"It's okay, Bray.  I think I can handle her alone.  Keep an eye on the riff raff, would you?  Scare up a better dancer for Shepard to watch. I remember how much she enjoys that. Be sure it’s a good one, can’t have Liara too comfortable when she comes to Omega, now can we?"

Bray gave her a crisp nod and sloped off down the stairs.  

Aria turned her back, staring at the crowd and trying to recollect herself, "Poor Bray doesn't have much of a sense of humor.  Never met a batarian who does, though.  You know what they say, sharp teeth, dull wits."

She turned to face the councilor.  She hadn't known what she was expecting to see when she turned around.  An acknowledgement of what they had shared?  A glimmer of affection?  Why else would she send the others away?  There was nothing.  Just the diplomatic mask firmly in place.  A cold, professional stare had replaced the disgust she used to let show when she looked at Aria.  She would have preferred the disgust, at least it was something.  

Tevos said, "I saw the salvage operation as we flew past the old relay.  Quite impressive.  And you had it up and running so quickly."

Aria blinked slowly, arms at her sides, and said nothing.  Her guts twisted with fury.

Tevos took a step forward and smiled in a dead, politician sort of way, "I came here because I have been speaking with the High Command... what's left of it anyway.  I have been encouraging them to acknowledge your service to..."

Aria's hand whipped out and closed like a vice around Tevos's upper arm, just below her armpit.  She could feel the bone under skin and muscle she was gripping so hard.  She yanked hard, pulling the councilor to her.  The woman lost her balance and fell against Aria's body.  She made the slightest move to step back and Aria pulled her hard back against her own body.  Aria leaned forward, her teeth clenched and her eyes full of seething anger. 

She nearly shouted through her teeth, "What the fuck are you doing?  Are you trying to get me killed?  What are you fucking doing here?" 


	3. Chapter 3

Several things happened at once, but Aria was aware of none of them.  All she was aware of was Tevos's eyes and the rage boiling in her gut. The rest of it happened outside her world. In a place where sound was muffled and movements were slow.  There was a shout from the booth below and a flurry of movement as Shepard and Liara came charging up the stairs.  A split second later, Bray followed, shouting at the pair and reaching for the rifle slung over his back.  The commotion caught the attention of the crowds below, who could look up and see the standoff between the two asari.  The anger writ large on Aria's face decided them.  Hands and talons inched towards weapons all around the bar as the hypnotic beat of the music continued unabated.

"Aria," Tevos's voice was strangely weak.  Aria ignored it, her teeth clenching painfully and her eyes burning. She shook the arm she held so tightly, Tevos’s body swaying away from her and then slamming back against her own, a small cry of pain came from the councilor.

"Aria!  Let her go!"  Shepard was reaching for the metal at her hip as she crept slowly towards the pair, her voice level and calm.  Liara's right hand already glowed with biotics.

"Please, Aria."  Tevos's voice was stronger now.  "You're hurting me."

The words seemed to snap Aria out of the moment.  Her grip instantly relaxed.  It wasn't until she heard Tevos's heels click down on the metal floor that she realized she had been pulling her up so hard that she had been standing on tiptoes.  Aria blinked and looked around.  She bared her teeth at Shepard and Liara, her free hand beginning to glow blue at the fingertips.

Tevos put her hand up to the human and asari advancing toward them.  They stopped and she said, not looking away from Aria's face, "Please, Admiral.  Liara.  Everything is fine."

Liara's voice was strained as she replied, "Everything is _not_ fine, Councilor."

Tevos put a hand on Aria's shoulder and the purple face turned to her.  Her eyes cleared suddenly and she dropped her hand to her side, turning her back on the landing and facing out to the crowds of Afterlife.  At least twenty pairs of eyes were locked on her, hands surreptitiously resting on the butt of pistols or stuffed in deep pockets.  They all were expectant and willing, waiting for the word to destroy those who threatened their queen. For a split second she considered nodding. Giving them permission to attack so that her mind could be wiped clean with the balm of blood. She got control of her rampaging emotions an instant later.  She raised a calming hand and shook her head the smallest of fractions.  The eyes moved away but stayed wary, hands returned to drinks and the tension lifted a degree.

She turned back around to see Tevos speaking calmly to a rigid Shepard and a seething Liara.  On occasion, Liara would shoot a hostile glance her way, and a few strands of biotics arced between the fingers on her right hand.  Aria's mind was blank, a dull buzzing having replaced the normal calm and ordered thoughts.  She worked desperately to piece together the events between Tevos sending the two away and when she begged Aria to release her arm.  It was all a red haze.  Her fingers ached where she had gripped at the councilor's arm, but she could not for the life of her recall grabbing it. 

"It was a simple misunderstanding, Admiral.  Nothing to be concerned about."

"With all due respect, Councilor, I feel it's time I take you out of here."

Tevos spoke calmly, her voice soothing, "You told me yourself that Aria could be trusted, and I agree..."

Liara was incredulous, "Councilor..."

"I appreciate your concern, Liara.  And yours, Admiral.  I assure you I am quite safe with Aria."  Tevos turned and looked at her, her politician's neutral look firmly in place.  "Aria, perhaps there is a more private location we might speak?  Do you have an office or a..."

Shepard was beside herself, "Councilor!"

Tevos made it clear with a look that she would not accept more discussion on the topic.  Aria was still reeling from her loss of control and her seething resentment.  She didn't trust herself to speak.  She held out an arm, indicating a door in the back wall.  Tevos made for it immediately and Aria followed.  Bray so close on her heels that they were almost touching, and the three soldiers behind him, nearly knocking him down to stay close.  Aria entered a code into the door to unlock it and Tevos entered without a backward glance.  Aria couldn't help herself, she threw a smile that was mostly teeth at the frustrated soldiers as the door closed in their faces.

She stared at the now inert metal for a long moment, gathering her thoughts. It struck her suddenly that she was now alone with Tevos, and the knowledge stripped away some of her perpetual confidence. Slowly she turned to face the woman she had loved for decades. 

Tevos had walked to stand at the corner of the large glass topped desk covered in papers and datapads.  Behind the desk was a tall backed chair with high, pointed wings and scarlet leather.  The walls were unadorned metal blocked at intervals by full-to-bursting file cabinets, a tall wine rack, and a well-stocked bar.  There were thick carpets on the floor and a deep leather couch on one wall.  More often than not these days, Aria took what little sleep she got on that couch.  The demands of keeping track of a criminal network, a booming eezo mine, a thriving freight company, and a new multi-million credit salvage operation required long hours of accounting and scheduling.  She had not seen her private apartment in almost a week, and today had been her first venture to her throne room in Afterlife in several days.  The private bathroom off this office now had a pile of dirty clothes unconscionably high in one corner.

Tevos leaned against the surface of the desk lightly, her slim fingers flexing and bending absently as though she were massaging the glass.  Her hair tentacles were pointed to the ceiling, and Aria traced the lines of her neck folds with hungry eyes.  She had not seen Brielle in over a year.  Not since they parted ways during the evacuation of the Citadel.  Aria had expected her to come to the hospital.  She had waited to see that lithe body in her trademark tight dress march through her door every single day.  Every night she fell asleep assuming it would be the next day.  Five long weeks of hopes renewed and hopes dashed every twenty-four hours.  The pain in her body was intense, but the pain in her heart when she finally accepted that the woman would not appear was magnified a thousand times.

When she was discharged the mass relays were not yet operational, and the flight back to Omega was endless.  She spent most of the trip composing a message to send to Tevos on her new omnitool.  It took hours and she was proud that none of her pain or bitterness showed in the final draft.  She sent it, expecting an immediate response.  It never came.  The rest of the flight she spent convincing herself that the words of love they had spoken to each other and shared through the meld were one sided.  She had loved Tevos, but Tevos had not loved her.  It was the only explanation.

During the struggle to regain what was hers yet again, she was distracted by Tevos's failure to respond to her message.  For days she was preoccupied.  Suddenly it occurred to her that the asari councilor could not just drop everything in the middle of the largest rebuilding process the universe had ever known to go and throw herself at the feet of a criminal mastermind in an unsafe area of the galaxy.  It would be preposterous to think she could just show up at the hospital or here on Omega now.  The realization sustained her.  It allowed her to focus and rebuild her own slice of the world.  She was content to wait.  She had waited forty years to declare her love, another few months wouldn't kill her. 

After a few weeks, she sent another message.  She explained that she understood why Tevos had to keep her distance, but asked for some message, a private reassurance.  An acknowledgement at the very least.  The silence continued.  The happiness dissipated.  She sent another message.  She received no response.  She used her contacts to track Tevos's movements.  The councilor had understandably spent a great deal of time on Thessia early after the war.  Then Illium and Nevos.  She was present when the Citadel was dragged back to its previous position in preparation for restoration.  She visited Sur'kesh and Palaven and Earth.  She gave speeches and visited hospitals and homeless shelters and orphanages and at every location her omnitool was firmly strapped to her wrist, clearly visible in the vids and holos.  The now dozen messages Aria had sent were perfectly accessible to her.  Her ability to return messages was evident.  She chose not to respond to Aria's. 

Months passed and Aria's pain turned to anger.  She went to the new Council offices where they had been relocated on a ship docked to the shell of the Citadel.  She announced her presence to the secretary outside Tevos's office and was told the councilor was out.  She waited there for Tevos to return.  Waited for hours until the secretary started packing to go home for the night and it occurred to Aria that this pathetic display was not becoming of her reputation.  She marched, humiliated, back to her ship and left.  She stopped sending messages.  She gave up on any chance.  She received intel on a plot to attack the Council's temporary home and she put the terrorists down with such brutality that her own mercs were afraid of her.  She made sure the group never got near the ship so that she didn't have to get near the ship.  Her feeling of ill-usage became a cross that she climbed up on to wail from privately on occasion. She fostered its growth until the seed of resentment bloomed into a dark forest of anger. 

Then a year had passed and the woman herself strutted onto her station as though nothing had happened.  Not the torture on the _Destiny Ascension_ , not the love they had made after, and not the twelve months of silence.  Aria began to see red again and she took deep, steadying breaths to calm herself.  Time ticked on and the only sound in the room was the sound of Aria's breath hissing through her nostrils.  Tevos stood straight again, but did not turn around.

Aria broke the silence, her voice harsh with anger and cracking from shouting earlier, "Why are you here, Councilor Tevos?"

Tevos flinched at the use of her full name and title as if from a blow.  Perhaps the ice in the voice contributed as well.  She turned and there were tears in her eyes.  The tears made the anger in Aria's chest flare white hot.

"No!  No, _you_ don't get to cry.  _You_ don't get to leave me alone in a hospital for a month and a half and then ignore my messages and hide in your office while I'm sitting for hours in your waiting room and then walk onto my fucking station and cry!  You don’t get to fuck me and then cast me aside like some piece of trash. What the fuck do you have to cry about?"

Tears fell from those green eyes in silent waves.  They pooled and blurred the iris, white and green swirling and shimmering, and then they fell, cascading over the high cliffs of cheekbones, "I..."

Aria moved forward, her shoulders rounded forward and predatory, her muscles rippling, "You told me you loved me.  Showed me the feelings in your soul.  What happened?  Got cold feet?  Decided your precious reputation wasn't worth being thrown away on scum like me?  What do you have to cry about?!"

Crying had blocked her nose, and Tevos gulped air through her mouth in tiny gasps.  Her shoulders shook.  She had not allowed herself to cry since the war had ended.  She had seen terrible things, been through so much, but she had held it all inside.  Now it escaped from her just when she was desperate to keep it in, and she was powerless to stop it, "I..."

"Fucking say something already!"

Tevos pulled the handkerchief from the wrist of her dress and pressed it to her face, breathing through the fabric to try and stop her tears.  It worked enough to allow her to catch her breath.  She lowered the fabric and carefully folded it, watching the lines reappear in the translucent white until she had formed a tight square.  She looked up again then, facing Aria with all of the strength she could summon.  It was significantly less than she used to be able to.  The last year had been by far the hardest of her two hundred.

"I owe you an apology, Aria."  Her voice shook as she spoke the name, but she girded herself mentally and continued.  "I should have... well, I should have done a lot of things.  I should have answered your messages.  I should have... I've made a lot of mistakes, Aria.  At some point they all piled so high I couldn't find my way out of them.  By the time I realized I had hurt you with my silence, well... it was too late to just send you back a quick email.  I wasn't sure what...  I just..."

"You just showed up here after a year with no apology and no..."

"I do apologize, Aria.  I... I'm sorry.  I am more sorry than you know.  I..."  She couldn't think how to complete the thought, so she let it trail away.  She almost hoped Aria would cut her off again to cover the inadequacy of her apology, but the purple skinned asari did not oblige.  A silence heavy with awkwardness and regret built between them. 

Despite herself, Aria felt some of the ice around her heart melting at the sight of Tevos before her. Her eyes traced the contours of the face she had loved for so long and found it to be just as soothing and tempting as it always had been. Still, she wasn’t quite ready to forgive yet. She needed to know why it had been so easy to toss her aside.

Aria gathered up her indignation and spoke at last, "That it?  That's all?  Sorry for fucking you and telling you that I love you and then ignoring you?  Is that supposed to fix it?"

Tevos shook her head and the tears started again.  Her stomach was a hollow ball of regret and shame. She pressed her clenched fists into her abdomen.  There was a very real possibility that she could be sick at any moment.  She spoke, her voice sad and hollow as her stomach, "No.  It won't fix anything.  I know that.  I know..."  She took a deep breath and continued, "I know you will never forgive me.  I just... I couldn't go another day without seeing you and saying..."

"Hold on.  Never forgive you?"  Despite her insistence, the apology had fixed a lot.  The anger and resentment were dissolving even as she looked at that beautiful face.  The hurt and embarrassment were still there, but the tears were starting to affect her, melting those emotions away like rain on a blanket of snow.  "I'm a bitch, Brielle, but I'm not that big of a bitch.  How about an explanation? It would go a long way to helping us work through this."

Tevos's face crumpled as she spoke, the tears coming thicker and faster.  Aria assumed that they were from relief, but Tevos's face was contorted in pain.  Aria reached out and ran a thumb lightly over her left cheek, brushing the tears aside.  The blue skinned asari melted into her touch, her shoulders relaxing and her face pressing desperately into her hand.  Then she dissolved in sobs and Aria couldn’t help it. She gathered the woman to her, feeling tears fall into the hollow of her collarbone.  The councilor's arms were clutched to her own chest, and her balled fists were pressed between them as Aria pulled their bodies together.  All that was left of her doubts floated away like wisps of smoke in a light breeze as she stroked her hand along Tevos's crest and shushed her gently. 

After a long moment, the body in her arms tensed again and the tears stopped.  Tevos gently withdrew, leaning against the desk behind her for support in the absence of Aria's arms.  The criminal accepted the retraction with equanimity, knowing that her long awaited explanation would come.  She hooked her thumbs in the back pockets of her leather pants and waited.

The councilor still sounded hollow when she spoke, "An explanation won't help, Aria.  It will only make you hate me, but you deserve it anyway."

Aria tensed, her mind a blur with ideas of what the revelation could be.  She cocked one hip out, a subconscious habit that came from the knowledge that her sex appeal had always been a valuable defensive weapon, “Try me.”

"I... wanted to come see you in the hospital.  It took everything I had not to come see you.  You were missing on the battlefield for almost a full day, did you know that?"  Aria nodded slowly.  She had been told when she came out of surgery how bad her condition had been when she came in.  She remembered little from the time of the red flash until she woke up with tubes coming out of her arms.  "It was the longest day of my life.  When I finally got word that you were alive I was so happy I hugged my assistant.  She was very confused about why I cared so much about you.  I realized... well, you were right about how it would look if I went to visit you."

Aria noticed the blush of shame on Tevos's cheeks, but the admission had made Aria's heart leap with hope.  Tevos continued, "So I decided that I would find a reason to come to Omega once you were back here.  It took a long time for the hospital to release you, and I knew about Eloi's coup.  It seemed best to let you handle that before I appeared on the scene."

Aria shook her head, "Humans.  Worthless doctors kept me long enough to let their hapless criminals waste my time."

It wasn't clear if Tevos had even heard her.  She continued her story, her eyes fixed on a buckle of Aria's vest just over her left hip, "I left for my first visit to Thessia just before you left Earth.  I was...  I couldn't...  I don't know if you have seen the vids.  They do not begin to touch the destruction.  It was... overpowering.  The moment I stepped off the shuttle and looked around... I couldn't breathe.  I suppose it was just too much.  I don't remember much after that."

She sniffed and looked at Aria, her eyes full of a terrible pain, "Aria, I'm so sorry."

"I don't understand.  Thessia looked awful.  I can only imagine what it was like to see it in person.  What are you apologizing for? Passing out?"

Tevos shook her head.  She crossed her arms over her abdomen.  Her grip on her own elbows was so tight the skin there turned the palest sky blue, "I don't know how it happened.  I suppose I wasn't being careful. I got carried away.  When we... it had been so long since I had... been with anyone. And what I felt for you was so… intense.  I just suppose I... but I didn't know, you have to understand that I didn't know!"

Aria put her hands over Tevos's, trying to get her to loosen her grip.  Hoping to calm her down, but her own confusion was so intense.  "You didn't know what?"

An eerie, almost helpless calm came over her, "The doctors said it was stress.  I had been working too hard.  But there was so much to do, and how was I to know?"  She looked into Aria's eyes and something in that look explained everything in the moment before her words did.  "I lost her."

Aria's skin went cold, "You lost who?" 

"I lost our daughter."

 


	4. Chapter 4

"You were pregnant?"

Tevos squeezed her elbows, pulling her arms tighter around her, "Yes.  I was.  I'm... not quite sure how it happened.  I guess I got carried away when we…  It was... rather intense."

Aria felt warmth flood through her despite herself, "I remember."

Tevos's returning smile was weak but radiant, "At any rate, the doctors gave me a very motherly lecture about being more careful in the future and not pushing myself too hard.  They made it quite clear that I would have been able to carry her to term.  If only I hadn't..."

Aria's head was buzzing.  She couldn't seem to shake the picture from her mind of a little blue baby bouncing on her lap.  She thought of Liselle, of course, and her heart ached with loss.  She thought of herself as a small child, running around her mother's legs as she worked.  Her mind was a jumble of images and emotions, and she felt tired all over.  Tired and sad and confused.  She stood still and watched Tevos worry the fabric of her dress over her elbows.  Her fingers caught on the dress as Aria watched her.  One large, single tear fell from her eye.  Aria felt like her mind was moving too slow to understand even the simplest concepts.

"You had a miscarriage."

The word hit Tevos like a blow and she flinched, her hands gripping tighter again.  She nodded, her head bobbing up and down quickly as if she were trying to force the revelation out quickly and never have to think of it again.

Aria’s words were a simple statement of fact, "We had a daughter."

Tevos took a deep, shuddering breath, "For 42 days."

This new piece of information floored Aria.  She was suddenly light headed and moved quickly to the desk.  She sat on the edge of the glass top several long inches away from where Tevos was perched.  The councilor's body stiffened when she approached, but relaxed again when she made no move to make contact. 

Aria sat, her sweating palms flat on the glass top of the desk, fog blurring the surface around them. Her breathing was heavy and slow, "Forty-two days."

Tevos pushed away from the desk and turned, standing in front of Aria and steeling herself for the explosion of anger she knew would come, "Aria, I'm so sorry.  I'm sorry for not coming to see you in the hospital.  I'm sorry for not writing you back.  I'm sorry for pushing myself so hard and taking your daughter away from you.  I know you must hate me for everything I've done, so I will go.  I just needed you to know that I'm sorry."

Aria's brain suddenly started firing again and the words registered at last.  Tevos turned to go, but Aria reached out and put her fingertips on the prominent hip bone that was the only part of the councilor she could reach until she stood.  The touch was gentle, but Tevos stopped when she felt it.  Aria stood and said, "Wait a minute.  Taking my daughter away from me?  Hate you?  You think... you think I would blame you for having a miscarriage?"

"You should blame me.  It was my fault, I..."

"Stop."  Aria put her other hand on Tevos's other hip, but did not move any closer.  She wanted to be sure that they could look at each other.  Any anger she had felt at being abandoned had long since melted away, and her words were sincere, "It was _not_ your fault.  These things happen.  There is no fault.  No one is to blame, certainly not you."

"If I had taken more care..."

Aria reached up and cupped the blue cheek again, "Brielle..." 

Tevos backed away suddenly, "Please don't.  Please don't call me that."  Her stomach burned and she continued to hold the shattering pieces of her body and mind together with her arms.  "I know about Liselle.  I know how devastating it must be for you to lose another daughter."

Aria dropped her hands to her sides and, because she had no idea what to do with them, shoved them into the back pockets of her pants.  Images and memories and regrets about Liselle bounced around her head.  It had hurt so bad to lose her, she felt like she may crumble like she had when her parents had been murdered.  Everything was so different with Liselle, though, and she struggled to find the words to explain, "Liselle was... very special to me. I loved her so much.  She was someone I clung to when I felt like I had very little else in the world.  But I... made my own mistakes.  I raised her as a criminal.  She was too much like me and too young and she didn't listen."

Tevos was looking into her eyes, and Aria worried how the next part may sound.  She tried to express her love for her daughter and her own guilt to soften the words, "Liselle died because she made mistakes, too.  She didn't listen to me when I warned her and she walked right into a varren's den.  She did because of me, though.  Because she never knew who I was and she had no reason to really trust my motivations.  She didn't know that every grain of red sand I ever got I destroyed.  She didn't know that I was working with Cerberus only to keep a watch over them for evidence I could send back to Thessia.  All she knew is that her father was telling her that she shouldn't be with the man she wanted to be with.  All she could think was how she was half of a tragic love story and she died because of mistakes. So many mistakes. Some of them were my mistakes, some of them were hers.  But she made her own choices and she died because she made a choice."

Aria moved forward and put her hands on Tevos's shoulders, "Our daughter didn't die from a choice or a mistake.  She died because sometimes babies don't make it."  Tevos tried to shrug her off, but Aria wouldn't let her go this time.  She put her finger under Tevos's chin and tilted her head up so that they were looking into each other's eyes.  "Brielle... I do not blame you.  I do not hate you."

She leaned in just a fraction of an inch.  Just enough to make clear her intentions but allow Tevos to make the final decision.  They both knew how the moment would end, but they both held their breath in anticipation.

Tevos looked once at the thick purple line running through the center of Aria’s bottom lip.  She ran her tongue along the length of her own, wetting them.  Then she closed the gap between their mouths so quickly that her head spun.  She crashed into Aria's lips and felt the world slip away.  She forgot where she was and everything that had happened to her in the last year.  The pain of losing their daughter was there, but it was dulled by the joy of the kiss. It was as though everything else that had happened between that last kiss on the _Destiny Ascension_ and this one existed in some nightmare that their love was banishing.  
  
Aria kissed with all the desperation of a year's worth of doubt and loneliness.  The kiss was harder than she had intended given Tevos's fragile state, but the first taste of those lips swept her away and she was powerless to control herself.  She pushed her tongue forward and the blue lips parted so quickly she was unprepared.  Their tongues met and Aria's mind went completely blank.  She pressed her body forward, craving contact.  Tevos whimpered into her mouth, and she pulled back slightly, worried that she was pushing for too much too soon.  Then there was a hand sliding up the folds of her neck and burying itself in her crest, pulling her back into the kiss with an aggression that made her stomach flip.  
  
Several frantic moments passed before Tevos broke away, gasping for breath.  She kept her face close to Aria's for a moment before burying it in the high collar of Aria's white leather jacket and breathing her scent in greedily.  Aria's hands slid up her back and she shivered at the touch.  She wrapped her fingers around the low slung waistband of Aria's pants and used them to pull her back towards the desk.  The back of her thighs hit the polished glass and she pulled Aria's hips hard against her own.  A purple hand slid around and settled on the swell of her right breast, squeezing through the tight fabric.  
  
Tevos moaned, "Aria... Please... I need you!"  
  
She pulled the length of her dress up to her waist, revealing the high strings of her biking cut panties.  She scooted back onto the surface of the desk as Aria's hand moved from her breast to the small pink zipper dangling beneath her chin and began to pull it slowly down.  
  
  
*********  


  
Liara was pacing back and forth in front of the locked door.  The movement was wearing Shepard's nerves thin, but she valued her new marriage too much to tell Liara to stop moving.  Despite the brevity of their union, she had picked up a few important lessons, and trying to tell Liara what to do when she was in this state was the quickest route to an argument.  The asari starting chewing on her nails and Shepard decided to turn her attention to Bray.  The batarian was no less stressed than she or Liara, but he held himself like a soldier.  She remembered back to fighting at his side when they were retaking Omega. He was a stalwart soldier and a loyal guard.  Aria was lucky to have him.  
  
Shepard leaned against the metal wall next to the door and tried to determine her opinion of Aria T'loak.  The woman had been a nearly constant presence in her life for the last couple of years.  She had been an oddly welcome sight on the Citadel after the attack on Earth.  Something tangible that strung together the time she spent with Cerberus and the time when she was back where she belonged with the Alliance.  She respected Aria's strength if not necessarily her methods.  Though some of the choices she had been forced to make herself would not win her any humanitarian awards.  
  
She leaned closer to the door.  She had chosen this spot to perch because she could hear the muffled drone of conversation through the metal.  Now the room had gone silent, and she couldn't determine if that was a good sign or a bad sign.  The whole situation was so odd.  What had that fight even been about? How well could these two even know each other? They travelled in very different circles, after all. Sure, she had seen Tevos handle the immigration officer on the Citadel, but there had been a note of derision in the councilor’s voice when she spoke to Aria. What had changed?  
  
There was a loud crash from the other side of the door.  Bray and Liara were at her side in an instant.  Shepard typed a few commands into her omnitool, and then pressed the port against the locking mechanism of the door.  The hacking program was one of Tali's, so it should be them access any second.  Bray put up a feeble protest, but Garrus shut him up with a look.  
  
"What's taking so long, Shepard?"  
  
"Relax, Li. We'll be in there in a sec."  
  
There was a muffled scream from inside and Liara banged hard against her shoulder, knocking her omnitool out of place long enough to stall the hack.  
  
"Ouch!  Would you calm down!  There."

The pressure pad turned from orange to green and a blue hand reached over her shoulder, smashing into the button.  It whirred and the door slid open, all four of them fell into the room.  As they righted themselves they saw a pile of smashed datapads and a broken terminal monitor on the floor.  Papers were scattered around them as if the whole lot had dropped from the desk into a heap.  They all looked up to the desk as one and saw the reason for the mess.  
  
Councilor Tevos was perched on the edge of the desk.  The skirt of her long dress was bunched up over her hips so that her naked ass was pressed into the glass top of the massive piece of furniture.  One of her legs was wrapped around Aria's leather clad hips, whose hand was buried between the councilor's thighs.  Though her leg was blocking the view of what Aria's hand was doing, the energy with which the muscles in her arm worked left them in little doubt.  The top of the councilor’s dress was unzipped and pulled back over her shoulders, exposing the soft swell of her stomach below her ample breasts.  Aria's lips were locked around one bright blue nipple, the movement of her tongue over the bud obvious as it flicked against her cheek.  
  
Tevos's upper body leaned back, her arms behind her, braced against the vigorous motions of Aria's ministrations.  Her eyes were squeezed shut as the echoes of her scream of ecstasy died in the quiet air of the room.  As she finished her climax, Aria's pace slowed and then stopped.  She released the councilor's swollen nipple and raised her head.  Tevos did the same and their eyes met for a long moment.  It was obvious to Shepard and Liara at least that they were speaking through the mating meld, but they made no sound.  After an uncomfortably long time, Tevos reached forward and stroked Aria face with the back of her hand.  She leaned forward and they shared a kiss so intimate that the group at the door shuffled and looked away.  
  
Aria didn't tear her eyes from her lover, but she said to the group, "Enjoy the show?  Bray, get them the hell out of my office."


	5. Chapter 5

Tevos stood perfectly still under the shower, allowing the sharp jet of hot water to sting against her face and slide down her body in rivulets. The needling of the water and the steam in the small room opened her pores and allowed her body to breathe.  She felt tension release from her muscles and joints.  Felt the heat and dust of Omega slough off of her like dead skin.  A smile crept across her face, allowing a trickle of water to pass her lips.  The thought of the station made her think of Aria.  The thought of Aria made her whole body dance with happiness.

If she was honest with herself, she had wanted nothing more than to throw herself at Aria's feet and be forgiven her sins.  She had never in a million years dreamt it would actually happen. Aria had always struck her as overly proud, and Tevos had not anticipated that her wounded pride could be overcome. Then it had been. She wondered idly if she was dreaming.  Perhaps she would open her eyes, expecting to be pummeled with the pressurized water of in the first officer's private shower on the _Normandy_ , only to find she was instead back in her cold cabin on the even colder ship serving as a temporary home for the Council while the Citadel was rebuilt.  She tilted her head so that the spray hit her in the forehead and opened her eyes.  Her blue feet were standing on wet tiles with the Alliance logo stamped on them.  Water swirled around a tiny metal drain in the center of the floor.  She was really here.  It had all really happened.

She shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a thin white towel and heading for the mirror.  She wiped the fog of steam off the glass in one long, broad stripe.  The face looking back at her was almost a stranger's.  She had avoided mirrors, especially full length mirrors, since the hospital on Thessia.  The sight of the body that had betrayed her made her ill.  Most days she had trouble looking herself in the eye.  Some part of her knew that she was being ridiculous.  As Aria said, these things happen.  The idea of losing both Aria and their daughter through her carelessness had haunted her.  She hadn't quite realized how much until Aria had held her and forgiven her.  She smiled at the memory of those arms wrapped around her.

Some time later she walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom portion of her borrowed cabin wrapped in a silk robe, running the damp towel through her crest.  When she offered the  _Normandy_ as a ride for the trip to Omega, Liara had insisted that Tevos take over her large cabin.  It had originally been intended for the first officer, its first inhabitant Miranda Lawson followed by Liara herself, but since Liara now resided in the captain's cabin with her bondmate, it was free.  Liara had insisted and Tevos had accepted gratefully.  She had not relished the idea of sharing space with the many crew members, and she had no intention of allowing Shepard to give up her cabin.  Now the councilor had access to a private bathroom as well as a bedroom and adequate office space.  If only her personal assistant could have joined them, Tevos would want for nothing.

The omnitool she had left on her nightstand blinked with a new message.  She ignored it only long enough to rub the scented oil she always used as a moisturizer into her skin.  The scent of sandalwood filled the small room as Tevos retied her robe and strapped her omnitool on, pulling up the unread message.

 

_Councilor Tevos,_

 

_I was hoping you'd have a moment to talk about what happened earlier.  Can I come to your cabin when you are free?_

 

_Shepard_

 

She sighed.  She knew the moment would come, but she had no interest in discussing this aspect of her personal life with Shepard.  To refuse, however, would have been both rude and unwise.  She had used the Admiral's generosity to get here, and now she could not deny the woman’s right to question her motives.  Shepard was devoted to Liara, and she and Liara had become very close.  She had not intended to take advantage of the relationships at play, but, in retrospect, she may have done so.  She hit a few commands on her omnitool to call Shepard.

_"Councilor, you got my message?"_

_"I did, Admiral.  I think we should talk.  When might you be free?"_

_"I was just grabbing some coffee in the mess, so I'm right outside your door.  How about now?"_

_"I_..."  She considered putting the Admiral off, but her conscience told her it would be wrong _.  "Of course.  Do come in."_

The door opened the minute she got the words out.  Tevos looked down quickly to be sure her robe was tied tightly before advancing with her best contrite look.  Shepard was wearing her dress blues still, one hand buried in her pocket the other holding a steaming metal coffee mug to her lips.  Her steps faltered for a moment when she saw how informally the councilor was dressed, but Tevos showed no embarrassment so she chose not to either.  She had apparently learned to accept the more open habits of the asari. 

"I'm sorry to bother you, Councilor.  I hope you understand that I am coming to you as a friend.  I have your best interests at heart."

Tevos folded her hands in front of her, schooling her face to remain passive, "I appreciate your friendship and your interest.  I sincerely do, but your concern is unwarranted."

Shepard put her mug down on the desk, stuffing her other hand into her pants pocket and rocking on her heels, "I am concerned that you don't know what you're getting yourself into.  I know many people are attracted to the 'bad boy' type, and Aria fits that mold.  But the bad boy is always the one that hurts you.  How well do you even know Aria T'loak?  If you knew some of the things she's done..."

Tevos smiled indulgently.  She had thought she would be offended by the implication that she was naive, but she found it rather charming coming from this woman.  Most likely because she knew how untrue it was, "I know many of the things she has done, Admiral.  I'm not blind to the fact that her life has been... unconventional.  Outside the lines of the law, even.  But then so has yours.  I have known a good many Spectres who have broken nearly every law we have, but their actions were justified.  Some people have to live outside the lines so that the lines can remain intact."

"Aria is not a Spectre.  She's a criminal."

"And yet you have told me yourself that you like her."

The admiral rubbed the back of her neck, "I do.  I'm not saying she’s a bad person.  Deep down I think she’s a good person. _Very_ deep down.  My concern is that... Aria leads a life that is, as you said, unconventional.  You have a pure spirit, Councilor Tevos.  I'd hate to see you corrupted by that."

Tevos leaned her hip against the desk and crossed her arms, "Rather like a certain innocent young archaeologist was corrupted by a certain ruthless Alliance soldier?"

Shepard's face became hard, "That's not fair."

"I can think of quite a few people who look at your relationship and see that you profoundly changed Liara. She was meek, now she’s the Shadow Broker.  I happen to know that you changed her for the better and she doesn't regret a moment of it."

"Well, maybe _I_ do.  Maybe _I_ regret the loss of her innocence."

"But you respect her enough to know it was her decision.  And you love her enough to know that you make her happy despite what others may think."

“Well, that’s true, but… Wait… you know that Liara is the Shadow Broker?”

“Of course I do. Virtuous does not necessarily mean naïve. It would surprise you how much I know.”

Shepard scowled, "The fact remains that I am not a criminal and Aria is.  Like I said, she’s good deep down, but if you knew her like I know her."

Tevos stood, her manner changed just enough to show that she was not yet angry, but she was close, "I flatter myself, Admiral, that I know Aria very well.  Perhaps even better than you."

Shepard opened her mouth to speak, but Tevos silenced her with an upraised hand, "You are standing right on a line, Admiral.  Have a care where you put your foot next.  It may be over that line or even in your mouth."

Before she could respond, the door hissed open again, this time admitting Aria and Liara.  In contrast to her bondmate, Liara seemed perfectly at ease.  It appeared she had been chatting with Aria on her way to the office, though it was hard to tell if the chat had been friendly or merely a more polite version of the one they interrupted.  Liara went to stand next to Shepard. 

Tevos had eyes only for Aria.  The asari had changed from her normal outfit to a pair of skin tight reddish brown leather pants and a bright white shirt that showed several enticing inches of her midriff.  The white leather jacket was, of course, present, but she had swapped her shiny, heeled boots for a pair of worn leather motorcycle boots tucked under the pants.  It was a more masculine version of her normal outfit and it appealed to Tevos's mental image of her.

Aria went straight for her without bothering to look around the room.  Her eyes lingered appreciatively on the silk robe before she folded the asari in her arms and leaned in.  She pressed the full length of her body against Tevos and kissed her so hard that she bent back from the force. She wrapped her arms around Aria’s shoulders and kissed her back with matching passion. Just as Aria’s hand began creeping down the back of her robe to the swell of her ass, there was a sharp tap on both of their minds. They broke their kiss and whipped their heads around to stare open mouthed at Liara. Shepard was looking at her indignantly as well. It seemed she had projected her mind towards all three of them.

Liara blushed deeply purple and dropped her head into her hands, “Oh! Oh Goddess! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

Shepard laughed and went to her, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her hands away from her face. They looked into each other’s eyes intently. Shepard said, her hand moving to press against Liara’s stomach, “You’ll have to forgive my wife. She’s expecting.” Shepard and Liara were too busy looking goofily into each other’s faces to notice Tevos turn suddenly and take a few steps away from Aria. “She’s a bit… difficult to control these days.”

Aria glanced at Tevos, worry etching her face, but she did not want the others to notice the councilor’s distress. She shifted to block Tevos from their gaze with her body and said in a level, cold voice, “Congratulations. Go away.”

Shepard looked up with a sour look, “Charming as always, Aria.”

Liara smiled indulgently and petted Shepard’s face. The casual intimacy of the gesture and her ability to do it with the world watching caused a flare of jealousy in Aria. As with every other emotion she felt, she hid it behind a wall of arrogance, “Maybe if you took care of her needs she wouldn’t be trying to bond with half the ship. How about you skip off and take care of that, Shepard? We have our own business to conduct here.”

Shepard looked as if she wanted to respond, but Liara took her hand and began to lead her from the room, “If you need anything, Councilor…”

“We’re familiar with the procedure, T’soni. I’m sure you remember from the good look you got earlier.”

Tevos turned her head, ever the peacemaker, “Thank you, Liara. Admiral. Congratulations to you both. If you will excuse us…”

Shepard gave Aria a warning look as the door hissed shut, and she responded with a wolfish grin and wink. As soon as the door was shut, Aria whipped around and went to Tevos. She put her hands on the councilor’s shoulders and pressed their bodies together. Tevos leaned back into her.

Aria’s voice had a very different tone when she asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I thought I was. I just…”

Aria squeezed her shoulders and kissed the top of her crest, “I know. I want you to be okay, Brielle. I want you to be happy. How can I make it better?”

“Just hold me.”

Aria dropped her arms to encircle Tevos’s waist, pulling her back gently. Tevos sighed and dropped her head to rest against Aria’s shoulder, turning to breathe the scent of her neck. She wrapped her own arms around Aria’s and they stood for a long moment, reveling in the warmth of each other’s bodies.

Tevos sighed again and said, “Tell me that you want to be with me? That this won’t ruin a chance for us to be together.”

“I want to be with you and I will be with you. Nothing could keep me from you, Brielle.” She turned the woman in her arms so that they could look into each other’s eyes. “One day we’ll have a daughter together. One day we’ll have a thousand of them if that’s what you want. But, for right now… Goddess, Brielle. I just got you. I’ve dreamt of loving you for so long I can barely remember a time when I didn’t want you. For right now, I’m too selfish to share you with anyone else. Even our daughter.”

Tevos smiled sadly and said, “Well, you are a selfish, hedonistic criminal.”

She leaned in and lightly pressed her lips to the marking on Aria’s lower lip.

“Hmmm… Indeed. So I’ll need a century or so get my fill of you first.”

Aria leaned back in and kissed Tevos’s neck. She was pleased to feel a shiver flow through her body at the touch of her lips.

“I suppose I could give you my undivided attention for a hundred years or so.” Aria kissed her neck again, this time lower, closer to her shoulder. “But only if you keep making my whole body shake like this.”

Aria grinned into the soft flesh. She pushed aside the soft fabric of the robe, kissing now on the swell of her collarbone at the base of her neck. Tevos hummed appreciatively. She pulled the fabric back more, kissing the top of her shoulder and reeling in the delicious scent of her skin and the sandalwood oil she had rubbed into it. Tevos’s hand fisted in the collar of Aria’s leather jacket, trying to pull the purple body closer. Aria pulled the robe off of her shoulder, the tight knot straining to keep the rest of the robe closed. She moved to kiss down the councilor’s bicep, but was met with dark purple splotches.

“Brielle!” Aria stood up and pulled the silk sleeve of the robe down to expose her upper arm. The bruising there was fresh, still bright purple against the light blue skin. She knew it would soon turn a sickly purple-black. The outlines of her fingers were clearly visible in the soft flesh.

“Brielle, your arm. I hadn’t realized I grabbed you so hard. I… I’m so sorry. Please… please forgive me!”

The distress in Aria’s voice and expression were so palpable that Tevos was shocked. She had meant to bring this up as soon as they were alone, but the discussion of her miscarriage had driven it from her mind. Aria stared at the ugly bruising transfixed. Tevos stood, letting her look her fill before responding.

“I will forgive you exactly one time. There were… circumstances.” Aria looked up, and Tevos made sure her expression remained hard as she continued. “Understand, Aria, I will not forgive you if it happens again.”

“It won’t.”

“If it does, I will leave.” She turned, squaring her shoulders to Aria and standing perfectly straight. “No matter how much I love you, I will not allow you to hurt me.”

Aria said with more sincerity than she had ever expressed, “I swear on my life. I will never hurt you again.”

“As long as that is absolutely clear.” Tevos moved forward and kissed Aria’s bottom lip. Instead of a chaste kiss like earlier, this time she sucked it into her mouth and bit lightly before pressing them together in a hungry, seductive kiss. She pulled away slowly, her tongue flicking lightly at Aria’s teeth, before continuing, “Now… I believe we started something in your office.”

Her hand brushed over Aria’s shoulder, then down to the tight fabric of her shirt where it puckered, straining to hold in her ample breasts. She trailed one finger down her stomach, dipping slightly into the exposed belly button, before hooking around the waistband of her pants. She looked back up into Aria’s eyes with unadorned need and said, “I didn’t get my turn.”

Aria grinned and reached for the tie of Tevos’s robe, but a blue hand shot out and stopped her. Tevos reached up and slid the jacket off her shoulders, lingering on the bunched muscles there and slipping her fingers under the capped sleeves of her shirt to massage them. She was moving forward, pressing Aria back towards the large bed at the back of the cabin. She moved her hands from Aria’s shoulders to the swell of her shirt. With a touch she realized Aria was not wearing a bra, and she teased the nipples through the thin fabric. Aria moaned as her nipples tightened, showing clearly through the stretched cotton.

Aria’s legs hit the bed and she stopped, letting Tevos lead the encounter. When they had been together on the _Destiny Ascension_ , she had taken the lead, drawing Aria into her cabin. Her insistence had been overwhelming erotic for Aria then. Now she gave herself over to the councilor again, enjoying the confidence of her lover.

Tevos pulled the shirt over Aria’s head before pushing her shoulders back, causing her to sit down on the bed. She turned and pulled the curtains around the sleeping area closed. They were gauzy and almost completely transparent, but there as some unidentifiable appeal to having them closed. She turned back around and watched Aria watching her. Aria’s pupils were wide with lust. Tevos reached for the tie of her robe, pulling slowly on one of the strings. Aria’s breathing quickened and her eyes were locked on the movements of Tevos’s hands. Her own fingers gripped reflexively at the bed clothes, twitching as though she longed to be untying the robe herself.

The knot on the robe gave way, but Tevos held the two sides together for a moment. Aria’s eyes were pleading, her lips shimmering in the half light of the cabin. Another moment of stillness and Aria stirred on the bed, her hips moving reflexively forward, trying to gain some friction against the tight leather of her pants. Tevos let the silk of the robe fall from her fingers, but it did not fall fully open. The fabric clung to the curves of her body, only showing a thin strip of blue flesh down the center of her body. The cool air of the cabin played over a few inches of exposed stomach and whispered on the swell below. Aria’s eyes were fixed on the shadowy depths just barely visible where her legs met. Her fingers flexed on the sheets again.

Tevos took a step forward, the silk fluttering around her hips as they swayed. She stood just in front of Aria now, the asari on the bed trailing her eyes up from her legs, across the dip between her breasts, over her neck to the sensuous face. She smiled in anticipation but remained perfectly still, waiting for whatever Tevos would give her. The councilor bent down, hands on Aria’s knees. Then she dropped her hands to the boots on Aria’s feet and removed them slowly, flinging each carelessly to the side as they were removed.

Aria smiled and leaned back, holding herself upright but leaning her weight on her hands behind her. She had always been confident in her body, aware of the appeal of firm muscles on a well-balanced feminine frame. She knew that the sight of her, dressed only in a pair of tight leather pants, her ample breasts displayed to full advantage framed by sculpted shoulders and biceps, was having an effect on the asari kneeling in front of her. Tevos slid her long fingered hands down the inside of Aria’s thighs and pressed them apart. Aria let her legs fall open and Tevos slid between them easily. One hand slid up the plane of her stomach and between her breasts. It wrapped around Aria’s neck and pulled her back into a kiss. Her other hand slid down the inside of Aria’s thigh, brushing against the seam of the pants where they met just enough to earn an answering press from Aria’s hips. Then her hand slid to the button of her pants and slipped it open with shocking ease. The pace of the kiss did not falter as she pulled the zipper down and slid her hand past the opening. The pressed her hand against the dampening fabric of her underwear as she slid her hand down, cupping Aria’s sex in her warm hand. Aria groaned and bucked her hips forward, grinding a flicker of pleasure from her lover’s open palm.

Tevos broke the kiss and used the hand at her neck to push her torso back. Aria let herself be pressed back against the bed, raising her arms and crossing them under her head. She did not look down, but felt as Tevos shimmied her out of her pants and underwear. When she was naked she stretched her body luxuriously, feeling the ripple of muscle in her shoulders and arms. She was wound tight, worked into a frenzy by the sex in her office earlier. She had felt the ghost of Tevos’s orgasm and her mouth watered in envy. Then the human had burst in and she had been denied her own desperately needed release. She was cool and confident as always on the surface, but in reality she was barely holding herself together.

There was a whisper of fabric that Aria knew was the robe hitting the floor. She smiled at the ceiling, letting her imagination draw the picture of what was happening below. Tevos’s hands were on her inner thighs again, rubbing the purple flesh and causing waves of anticipation to flow through her body. The fingertips were just at the crease of her legs meeting her hips. She spread her legs wider, granting access for the mouth she knew was coming. There was a pause so deliciously long that Aria closed her eyes. Then there was a press against her, but it was not the wet swipe of a tongue. A soft press of flesh made her gasp, then a hard bud rubbed over her clit and she groaned, her body arching off the bed. Tevos had pressed her breast against Aria’s core, rubbing her hard nipple over her clit and dipping it into the wetness pooled there. Aria’s mouth dropped open in a silent scream of pleasure as the taut nipple rubbed against her again and again, Tevos’s hand gripping hard into her thighs.

Holding Aria’s legs apart hard, she dropped her mouth in place. She enveloped Aria’s core in a deep kiss, slipping her tongue past her entrance in several quick thrusts before moving up to flick over her swollen clit. Aria moaned and felt her body shudder. She had been so close to coming from the start, and now Tevos had taken her to the edge of release so quickly her head was spinning. She felt the muscles in her core begin to clench and her mind reached out with more speed than grace towards Tevos, practically begging for the meld.

_So soon, Aria? Here you were, acting so suave, and then I barely touch you and you are about to come for me._

She had barely had time to register the presence in her mind before Tevos was talking to her from inside her own head. The teasing tone warmed her and she felt a rush of affection that was equal parts hers and Tevos’s.

_Come on, Aria. You’ve waited long enough._

Her body arched off the mattress again as she exploded. Tevos held her hips down to the bed so she wouldn’t lose her grip when it began, and she was able to coax a second orgasm from her right on the heels of the first. The pleasure was so intense, the presence in her mind so wonderfully warm, that she couldn’t help from screaming at the top of her voice. Half the ship probably heard her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care at all. All she could think and feel was Brielle.

When she had finally ridden out all of the aftershocks and her body was collapsed back on the bed, Tevos crawled up and lay beside her. They soon fell asleep together, wrapped in each other’s arms and minds.   

 


	6. Chapter 6

"So... what happens now?"

Aria looked down at the top of Tevos's crest, resting on her chest.  She traced the light blue ridges with her eyes, letting her gaze slip lazily through the shadows and grooves that dipped into each other.  The light in the cabin was pleasantly low and filtered by the gauzy curtains that hung just past the end of the large bed.  Her eyelids were heavy with contentment if not drowsiness, and she spent a moment enjoying the colors of Tevos's blue skin against her own purple and the bright, crisp white of the sheet that covered them both. 

"I'm not sure.  It's been so long for me I can't quite remember what comes next.  A snack?  Probably should shower first."

She could feel Tevos's smile against the warmth of her skin.  The councilor's voice was only teasing at annoyance when she responded, "I am being serious, Aria."

Aria reached up her fingertips to swirl lazy patterns on Tevos's exposed shoulder.  The touch was light, like the whisper of a breeze, and she was pleased to feel goosebumps form on the smooth skin, "Me too.  I can't remember the last time I stuck around this long after..."

Tevos swatted at her arm, "Shepard's right.  You're infuriating."

Aria gave an exaggerated groan, "Uggh... don't mention that woman when I'm so happy and not in a proper state of dress to go slug her."

Tevos pushed herself slowly off the bed, turning to prop her chin on Aria's chest and looking into her eyes.  Her face had gone quite serious, "How long has it been?"

"Hmm?"

"You said that it's been a long time.  How long has it been since you were… with someone?"

Aria put her hands behind her head.  The intent had been to prop her head up a little to better look into those eyes, but the murmur of appreciation as Tevos watched her shoulders move was an unintended benefit as well, "I thought you'd studied up on me?  Didn't check on how many lovers I was keeping around?"

"I could hardly ask my assistant to collect _that_ kind of information, could I?"

Aria grinned, "That's why I always do my own spying."  When Tevos's brow ridges lifted in surprise she continued, "Of course I was snooping on you.  For instance, I know that you haven't even been on a date in two and a half years.  That one went particularly badly.  But what do you expect when you go on a blind date with a 400 year old violinist?  She was boring and painfully shy and the two of you had nothing in common.  You took the bartender home that night, though.  A salarian female who could mix a Nevos Blue in under a minute.  Tell me, was she as quick at other things?"

Tevos was blushing, and she bent to lay a kiss on Aria's collarbone when she said, "Wow, you really were keeping an eye on me.  I suppose I should be indignant and furious at the intrusion, but it is rather alluring to think of you being so possessive."

"You didn't answer the question, Councilor.  Always the politician, dodging questions."  She laughed and adjusted her arms into a more comfortable position, careful not to shift her torso and risk Tevos moving.  "I suppose the fact that you didn't return any of her many messages asking for a date answers it for me?"

"Speaking of dodging questions, you never answered mine."

"Ah... yes."  It was Aria's turn to look uncomfortable.  The answer would surely pop a hole in the bubble of her confident swagger, but she was determined that Brielle was the one person she would not lie to.  "Eleven years."

Tevos's chin shot off of her chest and the look of incredulity made Aria squirm.  Tevos said, "What?  You... you're the Queen of Omega!  You're... well... hot!"

Aria laughed again, "Don't I know it!"  She sobered quickly and continued.  "A turian biotic.  You know how they treat biotics on Palaven.  She was... broken when she came to Omega.  It's hard.  Pretending to be something you're not.  I took an interest.  We dated for a long time, but... Look, you should know I'm not an easy person to be involved with.  I can be... I don't know.  And I didn't even love her, so I'm sure I was much worse to her."

Aria paused and her eyes went to the bruises on Tevos's arm.  She thought about the things she had said to Nyreen in that last conversation they had.  In the elevator on the way back from the mines with Shepard.  She had been harsh and thought it was the right thing to do. Then Nyreen had looked at her moments before those grenades went off and Aria would have done anything to take it all back.  To tell Nyreen how brave she was.  To tell the woman that everything she wanted Aria to be she was, she just couldn't show it.  The woman's death was on Aria's head and she knew it.  She'd have to live with it for the rest of her life.  Between the bruises and the image of Nyreen exploding into a million pieces, the hot cauldron of shame that had taken up permanent residence in her gut bubbled up and threatened to overwhelm her.  She thought she's be sick.  She tried to push Tevos aside, to stand and walk away.

Tevos held her roughly down when she tried to stand.  The back of her head collided with the headboard, the hollow thunk echoing in the small room.  Tevos slid her body forward and pressed a gentle kiss to the twin markings that linked her brows.  The pressure of her warm lips stayed for a long time, and Aria felt the bubbling recede.  She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Tevos's waist, holding her close.  After a long time pressed together, Tevos pulled back and slid back down.  Her movement dislodged Aria's arms, and she shoved them back under her head as Tevos perched on her chest again.

She blinked at Aria a few times and then said, "Eleven years ago... that was also when you accosted me at my party."

Aria smiled at the memory, "You were wearing that black sleeveless dress with the high collar and the keyhole slit thing right under the collar's button.  What's a girl to do when presented with a view like that?"

"A gift from the human ambassador before Udina.  An Asian design.  I particularly like that dress."

"Well, it was another wonderful human invention that made me act like such a fool.  Tequila.  I had a lot of it that night and couldn't help myself.  If I'd been a good asari and had honey wine I probably would have been a little less crass."

"Unlikely."

Tevos's smile made Aria's heart flutter.  The teasing tone caused a swoop in her stomach and she just smiled back into that lovely face.  The face sobered as Aria knew it would, and the question that made an altogether more unpleasant swoop in her stomach was asked again, "What happens now, Aria?"

"That depends on what you are willing to accept."

Tevos looked at her for so long Aria felt like she was drowning.  Finally, she said, "You won't leave Omega."

It wasn't a question, and there was an air of defeat in the words.  Aria pushed herself up on her elbows, "Omega is... mine."

"Your home."

"My home.  My livelihood.  My responsibility."  Tevos continued to rest her head on Aria's chest, even when she moved.  She took it as a good sign.  "That may not make sense to you.  I'm not sure it makes sense to me.  This place... it matters."

"I know the matriarchs want you to stay here..."

"It's not about them."  Aria was discovering her own feelings even as she talked.  Her pulse was racing, trying to convey why she had to stay.  "It's partly about Thessia.  At least it used to be.  I'm still doing important work for them here, but it's not really about that anymore.  It's about Omega.  It's about the people here.  Every time I am gone for more than a few days someone comes in and tries to take this place.  Take it from me, but also take it from the people of Omega.  They come in and they kill my people and they put them in cages and they hurt them.  I won't let that happen anymore.  I can't.  These people need me."

"And you need them."

Aria saw the sadness in Tevos's eyes and rushed to explain, "I did.  I needed them to redeem me.  Maybe I still do, but it's not about that.  I owe them safety.  I owe them a chance.  Would you walk away from the people of Thessia in the middle of this chaos to come here to me?  I have that same responsibility.  Just… on a smaller scale."

She nodded, but it was with resignation.  Tevos's eyes shon suspiciously when she said, "You asked what I am willing to accept."  She swallowed hard and continued.  "I can accept that.  I can accept that for you."

The gift of those simple but powerful words was almost more than Aria could bear.  There was a small explosion in her chest that made it very hard to breathe.  She leaned down to the blue face perched on her chest and placed a simple, chaste kiss on the lips.  She tried to express an acknowledgement of the gift, but wasn't sure she knew how to do it. 

She leaned back and said, "I'm not saying forever here.  I just... we've started something here and I can't walk away from it yet.  We're on the edge of something.  We're on the edge of being something very special.  I don't know how long it will take, though." 

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

Aria hadn't really acknowledged her plans to herself yet.  She had started things in motion, but was unwilling to make any clear plans when she had heard nothing from Tevos after the last year.  Now she was realizing she had been hurtling toward this inevitability for a long time.  She explained it as much to herself as to Tevos, "We live outside the lines here on Omega.  We don't follow all of the Council's laws, but that doesn't mean we live in anarchy.  The mine used to be something close to slave labor.  I didn't bother to change that until recently.  Now with the salvage operation, the freighters, and a reputable mining operation... Well, we're closer to a free society than the band of outlaws we used to be.  We'll never be the Citadel.  I couldn't stand that.  We'll always have people who live outside the law... hell, I live outside the law.  But I can make this place... something like a colony I suppose."

There was excitement in Tevos's face when she said, "We can give you that, Aria.  We can legitimize Omega..."

"No."  She was firm on this point, her voice cold as frozen steel.  "No, not another outpost of Thessia or the Council.  More like a colony free to all.  Not an asari colony.  Not human.  Not turian or batarian.  Not a moneymaker for anyone's home world where the people are exploited for every credit.  All races, living together in harmony for their own prosperity.  It's what the Reapers tried to take away from us.  Turns out it was the gift they gave us instead.  Cooperation is all well and good when you all in Council space but a shiny bow on it and smile for the cameras.  Out here we are going to make it a reality.  A life lived every day.  Maybe it's more like the Citadel than I want to admit, just... a little dirtier.  A little more Terminus.  Does that make sense?"

While Aria was speaking, Tevos had shifted.  Her eyes fixed on Aria, she sat up, the sheet falling off of her and forgotten.  Her own heart was racing now and a fire burned in her eyes.  It was the same fervor from when she visited the orphanage all those years ago.  When she argued with the other councilors for funds towards public works instead of more warships.  When Aria finished, she sat and watched for a long time.

Aria cleared her throat and said, "So, you don't think I can make it happen?  I know it's not the way you work, but..."

"No.  It isn't the way I work.  Maybe it's how I should.  I don't know if you've noticed, but I haven't gotten much accomplished in the last forty years.  Maybe I should act more like you.  More like a pirate."

Aria laughed and pulled Tevos down into her lap by the wrist.  The councilor allowed herself to be drawn in and wrapped her arms around Aria's neck, "I could be a pirate, you know."

"A very smart asari once told me 'a pirate is just a grunt'.  You could never be a grunt, love.  You'll just have to be a Pirate Queen."  She pulled Tevos in and kissed her.  She pulled back and said, "I think Omega has room for another Queen.  You think there's a space for two Pirate Queens on the Citadel?"

"They're rebuilding now.  Perhaps I can make some changes."  She smiled down at Aria and continued, "You know there are people on the Citadel who live outside the lines.  That's rather what I had in mind for you.  When you are ready to leave Omega."

Aria gave her a skeptical look and replied, "You want me to set up a smuggler's stall in the Lower Wards?  Not exactly my style, babe."

The confidence and possessiveness of this woman was a constant pleasure to Tevos.  She traced a finger over the swirling design of the marking at her right temple as she explained, "No, not a smuggler.  I was thinking more along the lines of what you do now.  Not the running Omega part, the spy part.  I was thinking that... well, the way you make your own rules for the greater good.  Sounds an awful lot like a Spectre."

When Tevos looked into Aria's eyes there was something of a wary hopefulness in them.  It brought Aria up short.  The thought was absolutely ridiculous.  A criminal mastermind.  A smuggler and merc and killer as a Spectre?  Then she actually thought about it.  How different was she from a Spectre?  How different was she from Shepard?  She lived outside the boundaries of the law.  She killed to save lives.  She took action that C-Sec or military and police officials could never take to keep good people safe.  But then so did Spectres.  In fact, that was the point of Spectres.  To live outside the boundaries of the Council's laws in order to keep the Council and their people safe.  She'd been doing that for Thessia for a century secretly.  What was so different about doing it for the Council openly?

Just when she was starting to believe it may work, the happy bubble in her burst, "The Council would never approve my appointment."   

"They would if they knew everything you've done."

"That was all for the asari.  You'd still be the only one to vote for me."

"You saved Sur'kesh.  That would get you Valern's vote.  Sparatus hero worships your father.  If he knew who you really are, who your family was, he can be persuaded.  If not, I can work on the new human councilor.  If they ever select one, of course."

The politician in Tevos was coming out.  Aria could see the wheels turning in her mind, determining angles of persuasion.  She was confident and sure.  She thought about how well that determination must play with her colleagues and the voters back on Thessia.  It made her start to believe again.

"Before you start any back room deals."  She said, drawing Tevos's eyes back to her.  "Let's see how things go here.  I do like the idea, though.  It would be... fun to work with Shepard again."

Tevos leaned in to Aria and held her for a long time, saying nothing.  When Aria leaned back against the headboard, she could just see one of the tentacle-like supply tubes running from the eezo mine at the top of Omega down to the dock next to them.  It was empty now, not attached to a ship, hanging perfectly frozen in the stillness of space.  Beyond the tubing and the dock she could see the layers of the station disappearing below, out of view. 

That was Omega.  Like an iceberg, with hidden depths below the surface.  The ocean around it opaque in the cold, hiding what was truly important from the eyes of anyone who didn't trouble to look.  From the type of windows and the location of the dock, she knew she was looking at one of the higher levels, just below the main floor.  Mainly apartments and warehouses.  The people who lived in those spaces were miners and mothers, mercenaries and idealists, killers and healers.  That was Omega.  A hunk of asteroid and metal that contained the spectrum of life in the galaxy.  Every race and every class.  Good people and bad people rubbing shoulders and depending on each other for everything.  No one cared about them but each other.  No one except Aria.

Tevos's voice was muffled against the purple skin her cheek was pressed into when she asked, "When can I see you again?"

"Soon."  Aria didn't hesitate to answer.  She had already begun forming plans in her mind.  "But I don't think we should ask for the _Normandy_ to bring you here again.  Wouldn't want Shepard to feel like her ship existed only to shuttle my girlfriend around."

Tevos smiled and held tighter, "I understand there is a certain couch in Purgatory that was undamaged by the Reapers.  I'm sure we can make it available to you when the station reopens."

They laughed easily together in each other's arms.

 


End file.
